Managing the Football World Cup

S. Frawley, D. Adair, S. Frawley, D. Adair

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781137373687
• Topic: Negocios y empresa
• Subtopic: Gestión

Managing the Football World Cup explores areas often overlooked by project management and business studies researchers. Therefore considering the global impact of the Football World Cup it is time for a detailed examination of the planning, organization, management, implementation and related commercial features of this mega-sport event.

1

Managing the World Cup: Managerial Dimensions

Stephen Frawley and Daryl Adair

The Football World Cup is one of the biggest global sporting events. Along with the Summer Olympic Games, the Football World Cup can be truly called a mega-sport event. Both events attract billions of dollars in broadcast and sponsorship contracts and attract millions of spectators every four years when the events are staged. Nations and cities around the world desperately seek to host both events. By doing so host nations and cities often justify the multi-billion dollar investment required to stage these events on economic development grounds with stated benefits to emerge from urban renewal, transport infrastructure and tourism development (Cashman & Horne, 2013). Given the size of the Football World Cup and its economic impact it is surprising that this book is the first attempt to bring leading international mega-sport event researchers together to examine the management and organizational components of the event. This book follows in the same path as our recent publication, Managing the Olympics, in exploring areas often overlooked by project management and business studies researchers (Frawley & Adair, 2013). Therefore, considering the global impact of the Football World Cup, it is time for a detailed examination of the planning, organization, management, implementation and related commercial features of this mega-sport event.

The planning and organization of a mega-sport event, such as the Football World Cup, is an extremely complex activity for even the most skilled and experienced event or project manager. A complicating factor for event organizers is that the Football World Cup is ambulatory in that the event moves from one host nation to another every four years (Van den Hoven et al., 2012). This ongoing movement of the event, as with the Olympic Games, means that there are constant challenges for each new organizing committee in capturing knowledge gained by the previous event administration (Frawley & Toohey, 2009). The constant movement from nation to nation and often continent to continent as well means that the transfer of knowledge is vital feature of the events planning and organization (Parent & Smith-Swan, 2013).

Given the vast scale and scope of the event management task it is surprising that only a small amount of research has been undertaken and published on the organization, management and operations of the Football World Cup. This is especially the case given that the planning and implementation phase for the World Cup can take more than a decade from start to finish, though the actual event is just a month in length. Furthermore, this research is of vital interest to a range of key stakeholders (such as governments, broadcasters, sponsors) who are heavily invested in the successful staging of the World Cup (Horne, 2012). In addition, research is also of interest to those who analyse mega-events and mega-projects, such as journalists, industry practitioners and independent researchers, as well as those with an interest in learning about how the World Cup is staged, such as lecturers, teachers and students.

While a number of books have been devoted to the Football World Cup there has been very little published that explores the management and commercial characteristics of the event. Many of the books published to date come from a historical and political economy perspective focused on matters such as corruption, hyper-commercialization and event impacts and legacy (Sudgen & Tomlinson, 1998; Horne & Manzenreiter, 2002; Jennings, 2006; Alegi, 2010; Tomlinson, 2014). However as the field of mega-sport event research has evolved (with a greater focus though still on the Olympic Movement in comparison to the Football World Cup) so has the number of researchers studying these events, with mega-sport event research output growing dramatically over the past decade.

Given this growth it has become very difficult for any one individual to stay across the entire production of this research area. This book therefore is not a survey of this large body of literature although the contributing authors are definitely shaped and influenced by it. Instead this edition has a specific goal, that being to critically explore the planning, management and operations of the Football World Cup as a mega-sport event. It is in short a discussion about how event organizers might effectively deliver the World Cup, taking into account what can be learned from previous events as well as the emergence of models of best practice and appropriate exemplars. This is an under-explored aspect of the Football World Cup, so this book is merely a step towards gaining a more sophisticated understanding of what is required to run the event.

While comprehensive, a book such as this is never conclusive, so what we regard as core areas of World Cup organization and delivery are covered: strategies in managing World Cup legacy for host nations and cities; managing fan engagement and new media strategies at the World Cup; managing World Cup stadium development and investment; managing World Cup transport planning and strategy; managing World Cup security strategy; managing the threat of ambush marketing at the World Cup; managing World Cup broadcast strategy; the problem of match-fixing; and managing FIFA governance reform.

While a single volume cannot do justice to the vast operational components required of World Cup organizers, the book is, however, designed to provide key insights as a step towards further theory and practice. In a second volume we would like to cover other important operational aspects of World Cup planning and management: examples include logistics and supply chain management; technology, ranging from results systems technology to event and project management technologies required to manage the event; the management of the accreditation and ticketing programmes; medical management; risk management; accommodation management; doping control protocols and procedures; football participation legacy and sport-for-development initiatives; tourism marketing strategies and impacts; and, last but not least, the place of the Women’s Football World Cup. The chapter now concludes by outlining the key themes discussed in each chapter.

Chapter 2 by John Horne examines the issue of legacy and the Football World Cup. Horne suggests that assessing the planning and management of mega-sport event legacy is very much dependent on the perspective of the involved stakeholders. The chapter also argues that FIFA has now recognized the importance of managing this process. Horne outlines the rise of sustainable practices and philosophy to the centre ground of World Cup planning, though often the discourse seems stronger than the implementation. This leads to the argument that a greater emphasis is needed in the development of legacy protocols and guidelines for future World Cup organization.

Chapter 3 by Adam Karg and Daniel Lock examines the growing area of fan engagement. The authors start by defining the place of fan engagement in mega-sport event planning and management and, specifically, related outcomes for World Cup marketing. Karg and Lock present a fan engagement framework for the Football World Cup which includes various stakeholders, content and distribution platforms. Finally, the chapter examines current World Cup fan engagement practices, drawing on recent examples of best practice.

Chapter 4 by Harry Arne Solberg and Chris Gratton examines the development and management of World Cup broadcasting. Drawing on economic theory, the first section of the chapter explores the rise of broadcasting and the Football World Cup. First, the cost structure of broadcasting the event is debated and discussed. The following section explores the role of and behaviour of related broadcast stakeholders that operate in the sport rights market. Finally the role and impact of government regulations are explored in relation to the management and implementation of World Cup broadcasting strategies.

Chapter 5 by Simon Chadwick and colleagues explores the rise of ambush marketing in the context of World Cup organization. The authors examine the innovative and creative elements that shape and influence ambush marketing strategy.

They argue that the development of disruptive technologies provides vast opportunities for organizations that wish to engage in ambush marketing while also providing significant challenges for brand protection of legitimate sponsors at the World Cup. The chapter examines how successful ambush marketing campaigns have been developed at recent World Cups and looks at the regulations and legislation that FIFA and event organizers have utilized to minimize and control the practice.

Chapter 6 by Holger Preuss and colleagues examines the economics of staging the World Cup, specifically exploring the financial sustainability of new venue development. The chapter looks at the efficiency of venue development at the three past World Cups – 2002, 2006 and 2010. The authors examine how venue development for these World Cups corresponded with post-event local demand. Through this analysis the chapter explores the factors that influence post-event stadium usage and sustainability.

Chapter 7 by Les Street and colleagues explores the broader features of stadium development at the World Cup. The authors examine the historical development of stadium design and use at the event from the first World Cup held in 1930 through to today. The challenges faced by host nations and event organizers in the context of stadium development are examined in detail. Secondly, the rise of sustainable practices and approaches at the Football World Cup are explored in the context of stadium development.

Chapter 8 by Simone Eisenhauer and colleagues explores spatial brand protection and security strategies employed at the World Cup. Drawing on detailed research investigating the 2010 Football World Cup, the authors analyse how event stakeholders protect critical event spaces, such as the public live sites, to ensure commercial viability. The chapter highlights the extensive surveillance strategies deployed by FIFA and World Cup organizers to protect the commercial stakeholders who are so heavily invested in the event.

Chapter 9 by Eva Kassens-Noor examines transport management practices at the World Cup. The chapter starts by exploring the fundamental challenges faced by host nations and cities when designing World Cup transport plans and infrastructure development. The chapter shows how transport planning and preparations differ greatly across World Cups depending on factors such as pre-existing infrastructure, current economic development and the size of the land mass covered for the event.

Chapter 10 by Kristine Toohey and Tracy Taylor examines security management at the Football World Cup. The chapter explores the security planning and management challenges faced by World Cup organizers and the relevant host nations. In the context of ever changing and increased global security challenges the authors explore the impacts and consequences for future World Cup organization.

Chapter 11 by Roger Pielke, Jr examines the issue of FIFA governance reform. FIFA as the owner of the Football World Cup has been heavily criticized for many years for its inability to adequately reform its governance practices. These matters are explored in detail and the chapter also provides specific recommendations for FIFA to consider in relation to institutional and governance reform.

Chapter 12 by Declan Hill examines the consequences of match-fixing at the World Cup. Drawing on detailed investigative research Hill presents a disturbing overview of the match-fixing environment that has developed within international football over the past two decades. Hill suggests one of the key problems with the Football World Cup is that the players are not paid to participate even though the event generates billions in revenue for FIFA through broadcast and sponsorship rights fees.

Chapter 13 by Stephen Frawley and Daryl Adair explores future World Cup research opportunities and challenges. Drawing on current issues and debates within the media and in academic circles, the chapter examines a range of research topics and themes that are likely to be considered in the future.

References

Alegi, P. (2010). African soccerscapes. Athens: Ohio University Press.

Cashman, R. (2006). The bitter-sweet awakening: The legacy of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Sydney: Walla Walla Press.

Frawley, S. & Adair, D. (2013). Managing the Olympics. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Frawley, S. & Toohey, K. (2009). The importance of prior knowledge: the Australian Olympic Committee and the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Sport in Society, 12(7), 947–966.

Horne, J. (2012). The four ‘Cs’ of sports mega-events: capitalism, connections, citizenship and contradictions. In Hayes, G. & Karamichas, J. (Eds), Olympic games, mega-events and civil societies: globalization, environment, resistance. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 31–45.

Horne, J. & Manzenreiter, W. (2002). Japan, Korea and the 2002 World Cup. London: Routledge.

Jennings, A. (2006). Foul! The secret world of FIFA: Bribes, vote rigging and ticket scandals. London: HarperSport.

Parent, M., & Smith-Swan, S. (2013). Managing major sports events. New York: Routledge.

Sugden, J. & Tomlinson, A. (1998). FIFA and the world contest for football. London: Polity Press.

Tomlinson, A. (2014). FIFA: The men, the myths and the money. London: Routledge.

van den Hoven, P. & Frawley, S. (2012 ). Aussie Aussie Aussie, Guus Guus Guus: Guus Hiddink’s reign as the coach of the Socceroos. Soccer and Society, 13(1), 97–106.

2

Managing World Cup Legacy

John Horne

Introduction

There is a burgeoning literature about sports mega-events, such as the FIFA Men’s Football World Cup Finals (hereafter Football World Cup or World Cup) and the Olympic Games, and the notion of legacy. For the purposes of this chapter I will refer to two distinctions with respect to legacies – that they can be tangible and intangible, and also universal and selective. It is well established that legacies can be tangible, that is related to, for example, changes in some way to the material infrastructure or economic performance, and intangible, that is related to, for example, emotional responses to a mega-event whether individual or collective (Preuss, 2007). A second distinction I want to suggest when thinking about legacy is that legacies can be selective and universal. By this distinction I mean the following. Selective legacies are particular, individualist and elitist, and tend to serve the interests of those dominating powerful political and economic positions in society. Universal legacies are communal, collectivist and inherently democratic, available to all by virtue of being made freely accessible. A problem for sports mega-events is that they largely generate tangible legacies that are selective and intangible legacies that are universal. I will return to this distinction in the conclusion.

Tangible legacies refer to substantial and longstanding changes to the urban infrastructure – the building of iconic stadia being one of the most notable when it comes to the Football World Cup. The intangible legacies of the World...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Notes on Contributors
• 1 Managing the World Cup: Managerial Dimensions
• 2 Managing World Cup Legacy
• 3 Using New Media to Engage Consumers at the Football World Cup
• 4 Broadcasting the World Cup
• 5 Ambush Marketing and the Football World Cup
• 6 The Challenge of Utilizing World Cup Venues
• 7 World Cup Stadium Development and Sustainability
• 8 Beyond the Stadium: Football World Cup Fan Fests and Global Live Sites
• 9 Managing Transport at the Football World Cup
• 10 Managing Security at the World Cup
• 11 An Evaluation of the FIFA Governance Reform Process of 2011–2013
• 12 Match-fixing at the World Cup – Why Not?
• 13 Managing the World Cup: Future Research
• Index